Exchange Students
by Fairy's Queen
Summary: Dumbledore tries one of his many schemes to promote house unity. Bad description but please read! I do not own Harry Potter. Obviously.
1. Pilot

Hermione found herself hiding behind the stones, watching her two best friends from the shadows. Near to the Black Lake, they were hiding something from her. Again. She had tried to keep her nose out of it, yet as always, the bookworm kept to her goody two shoes nature. She just couldn't understand why, after five years now of friendship, they couldn't tell her about it.

"For something they acted so grave about, they certainly look like they're having a good time," she muttered bitterly to herself, not noticing the mysterious figure lurking behind her own petite form.

"Granger! I see Weasel-bee and Potty Face left you out this time. Though I don't blame them," the man said with a disgusting scowl. His corn silk hair ruffled lightly, coveting his pale blue eyes. Teasing, being his forte, between the two often escalated to one of their so called battles of epic proportion.

Jumping, she whipped around, her hair almost stinging his face at his proximity. Feeling her back against the broad rock, she knew that no one could see them here, the rock barely tall enough to block the view from the castle windows. "Malfoy," she purred into his ear, using his tie to pull him closer. Confusion crossed his pale face, along with a mixture of arousal, hatred, and disgust. Once again purring into his ear, she continued, "A slimy git like you shouldn't be allowed to live."

Smirking, he moved to the rock next to her, propping himself up into what he believed to be a sexy pose. Producing a juicy green apple from his bag, he took an obnoxiously noisy bite. "Such a goody two shoes, can't you just try letting someone keep a secret," he said in between bites.

"Malfoy you dumb arse," Hermione hissed violently as her two friends looked toward the stone. Getting up to go take a closer look, they continued to chat curiously as they walked toward the large boulders. Gritting her teeth, Hermione pulled Draco with her into a grove of trees, pressing up against his pinned body so she could spy on her friends.

"Bloody Hell, Granger, if you want me that bad you could have just asked," Draco smirked, discreetly trying to keep his groin from bulging as the teen pressed her bust against him.

"Bugger off," she hissed, placing her hand over his mouth as she watched her friends. Harry, mind boggled, searched for the source of the noise, looking over every inch of the rocks.

"Maybe it came from the forest," Ron squeaked as he noticed a spider scuttling along the rock furthest from them. Once more, she pinned herself against Draco as she tried to blend in with the trees. Stilling, she looked, scolding herself for getting led into the situation. Soon, however, they dismissively turned to head back toward the Great Hall, it was almost time for dinner. Huffing out a hearty sigh, she moved away from Draco cautiously, her cheeks still stinging with raspberry blush. Averting her eyes, she emerged from the trees gently, striding off back toward the bridge.

Draco chased after her, complaining, only to be interrupted, "Honestly Granger, you're such a—"

Before he could finish, she whipped around to lash out at him angrily. "A what? A Mudblood? A filthy muggle? Say it," she screeched at him, catching him off guard.

Suddenly, without warning, he pinned her to a post on the bridge.

"A virgin," he purred, mocking her as his lips hovered above hers. Her face, flustered even more now as his lips started to close in on hers. His lips, surprisingly warm mounted themselves passionately upon her own, and for a moment she didn't resist. She opened her eyes in shock as they kissed, almost enjoying it for a moment before coming into realization. Pushing him away in disgust, she slapped him, storming off to dinner.

Finding herself in the Great Hall already, she frumpily threw herself into her typical seat, ignoring the conversation. She glared as Draco entered the hall, smirking in a quite pleased manor. Glaring daggers, she felt her eye twitch as he wouldn't look at her. Finally as he sat, he glanced over devilishly, his smirk remaining.

Dumbledore soon walked gracefully up to his podium, its golden wings catching the light as the owl unfolded itself, tapping ever so gently on it with his wand. Gently as it was tapped, it still managed to resonate and catch the students attention.

"Attention, students. I would like to make known a new condition I've decided to install upon the Houses this year," he wheezed, his raspy voice echoing laughter and a twinkle mischievously hanging in his aged eyes.

"In an effort to support House unity, I will allow the top students of each house to be intertwined into a sort of exchange program. I will call the names out, and those called will come directly to my office after the feast." As he muttered a spell, barely audible to the students.

The enchanted sky glowed as _Ernie Mcmillian _was written into the sky in a shimmering gold. The Hufflepuffs gaining a roar of cheers, only to quiet down as another firework of flashing as the House quieted down. Slightly underneath it, _Hermione Granger _was written in a deep hue of scarlet. Following this directly, as Gryffindor cheered joyously, a jet of emerald green shot up like venom as _Draco Malfoy _appeared in the sky. Slytherins cried out in an enormous wave as they competed for dominance.

Patting her upon the back, Ron gave her an apologetic smile as her stomach lurched in realization. She had a boyfriend… and Draco had …. What had she gotten herself into?

She started to feel large waves of nausea as _Marcus Belby_ appeared into the sky in a majestic purple. She would have to tell Ron about this incident. She could feel her face draining color as Dumbledore announced something she hadn't heard. As he stepped down from the podium, the great feast appeared before her face. Yet while the others bashfully drowned their stomachs in food, she nibbled on whatever appeared before her. She was sure someone was trying to get her attention as she tried to work out how she would tell him. Soon, however, the feast was over, and she felt Ron leading her by the hand out of the Great Hall. Sighing, she stopped him, grabbing his hand gently as he turned around, with a look of confusion on his face.

"Ronald," she started, his eyes innocently boring into her, "I have to tell you something…" She stared into his blue eyes uncomfortably for a second before shooing it away, not having the heart to tell him.

Taking him by surprise, she gave him a chaste kiss and simply said, "Now's not the time…"

In a mixture of surprise and happiness, he goofily smiled and turned back to find Harry. Sighing guiltily, Hermione left half-hearted as she set a crisp course towards the golden staircase that led to Dumbledore's private office. Arriving there, she curiously noted the other three students standing by the door way.

"That loony old bat! How dare he not tell us the password," Draco roared, though he stood, not helping, against a wall while he ranted.

"None of you have been here before," Hermione questioned curiously. The Golden Trio, as some liked to call them, had been there loads of times.

"Well typically it's a type of candy. He's rather fond of using the names of his favorite sweets for passwords," Hermione proudly informed them, the bookworm, as always, giving more information than needed. And with this bit of information, the guessing game began.

"Jelly Slugs," Ernie suggested hopefully, yet the gargoyle stood firm.

"Fizzing Wizbees," Belby suggested as his stomach growled hungrily.

"Ice Mice? Acid Pops," Hermione asked the gargoyle, whom showed no signs whatsoever of budging.

"Exploding Bonbons?"

"Sugar Straws? Fizzy Wizzies?"

"Stupid old loon doesn't deserve to be here," Malfoy said as he slid down the wall to sit with his backs against it. Feeling herself twitch, she started to shout at the boy.

"What do you know about him, huh Malfoy? A slimy git like you couldn't ever understand how great of a wizard Dumbledore is! You're the one who doesn't deserve to be here," she screamed at him. He had started to smirk as a wheezy voice said clearly, "I much better prefer Pepper Imps."

The gargoyle shook as it dislodged itself from the floor and started to escalate. Ignoring the scene before him, he elegantly stepped past them and onto the staircase as the students stared in awe, "Well then, shall we go?" Stumbling onto the staircase after him, Hermione found herself alone with Malfoy in the hallway as the other students stepped on. Her hands clenched around the neckline of his robes, her face trying to withhold a sheepish expression as she stiffly moved from over him.

"Well damn, Granger, sorry I insulted your love affair with the loony wanker," he snickered as he pulled himself up and shoved himself through the staircase, Hermione stomping behind him.


	2. Riddles and Doors

Hermione found herself, for the second time this evening, trying to hide the raspberry blush that graced her face in a rather childish demeanor. The smirk that Draco had been previously wearing in the Great Hall had disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place. Even hating the teen, she had no idea how he could go from kiss to diss in little more than an hour.

Then again, they were mortal enemies. Granger and Malfoy, an eternal battle that competitively tore the school apart. Hermione found herself only half paying attention to what Dumbledore said as she mulled over her thoughts. More like stared ridiculously at the lone subject of her thoughts. Every once in a while, he'd glance around the room, sending her a stuck up sneer when his crystal eyes would meet her eyes. The color of mud would gaze back at him when he did, confused as she tried to sort out a reason for what happened.

Soon, Dumbledore got up, ushering them out of his large office and into the hallway. He snapped once and then shut the door behind him. For a moment all four of the students stood in a dazed state, why had he snapped? Had he cast some sort of spell?

The answer came to them in a crack as a doe eyed, floppy eared creature popped in front of the students.

"Lolly will escort you, kind sirs and miss. Lolly has been told to move the sirs' and miss's bags into the special rooms," the house elf chattered mercilessly as he took a gentle and hesitant hold on Hermione's robes. Smiling at the elf and giving him an encouraging nod, the elf begun to lead them to a hall on the third floor. The third floor that students were forbidden from every year since she'd started at Hogwarts.

Gently Hermione asked the elf, "Lolly, are you sure this is the right way?"

Immediately, the elf begun to bang its head against the walls and throw itself into statues.

"Lolly has done something to miss's dislike, Lolly must punish himself," he screamed as he continually body slammed again a statue.

"Now look what you've done, Granger," came a snide voice from behind her. Turning to the Slytherin Prince she flared dangerous eyes at him.

"I don't need judgment from you, Malfoy, not today," she screeched at him with a tone similar to the biting owl that often nested in the Hogwarts owlery. As she started to turn away from the teen, something caught her eye, a flash of corn silk and grey from around the corner that retreated just as soon as it had neared it.

Hermione couldn't see precisely who it had been, yet there were few with that bit of corn silk hair other than Malfoy.

Still, Malfoy's face remained a nonchalant expression of calm as the elf finally stopped its fit and led them to a door at the end of the hallway. It was driving Hermione nearly insane with the urge to strangle something.

"Headmaster Dumbledore Sir, told Lolly that the password is a riddle for the smart sirs' and miss's learning, so Lolly will go now," the elf informed the four, disappearing with a pop, as many free house elves tended to do.

With this bit of news, Belby strode up to the tapestry door, a cocky grin covered in chocolate plastered onto his face.

"The Ravenclaw common room is like this," he boasted, his accent heavy and distorted by the food still clogging his mouth.

The painting, a woman in a grey frock, grinned wickedly at them as the bumbling buffoon waltzed up, almost splattering his post-dinner snack unto her.

"_How far does a blind dog walk into a forest?" _she asked, a clever glint in her hazel eyes alerting Hermione to the certain hell that was to come.

Immediately, Draco huffed, sitting against the wall as he complained adamantly, "My father will hear about this."

"All the way through," Belby said almost immediately, without further thought. The three remaining students rolled their eyes, wondering how the buffoon had ever been picked.

"He doesn't," Ernie tried half-heartedly, throwing out a random answer that he hoped to be correct.

The woman, portrayed in thick cloths of green and white, eyes glinting mischievously as a cat's pelt hanging from her hips. Her brown hair draped flawlessly over her shoulder, her head turned back over her shoulder to look at the students.

"Perhaps," she accentuated, smirking mildly, "And why is this?"

The Hufflepuff let out a frustrated sigh, shot down as he gave up all hopes of answering. Suddenly, Draco got up, a confident smirk plastered onto his face as he strolled up to the woman.

"Halfway, Lady Morgana," he pronounced, his devil's smirk matching hers perfectly as his saunter reduced to a halt at her canvas.

A tiny flicker in the back of Hermione's head went off as Draco's staccato baritone pronounced her name. Of course, Morgan le Fay, a famous witch, she'd read about it in Bathilda Bagshot's, 'A History of Magic.'

Looking around, she noticed not just one, but all of the others roll their eyes at her. She flushed violently as she realized she'd blurted out her thoughts aloud. Again.

"Honestly, Granger, you're such a swot," Draco hissed, sneering maliciously at her. She wasn't completely taken aback at his words, but that didn't mean she didn't hide how it hurt her with an equally nasty sneer.

Clearing her throat loudly, she brought back their attention to her, "Why should you think that then?"

For once, the arrogant Slytherin had nothing to say. The only thing that was slightly more surprising was the fact that he had nothing left to say to someone of the opposite persuasion.

Malfoy stared, slack jawed as his finger pointed weakly, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to think of a witty answer. At the moment, Hermione couldn't help but notice how her previous assailant ever so slightly resembled that of a landlocked goldfish.

The twitchy glare and trademark sneer that the teen flung her way, quickly informed her that she'd once more made the error of literally speaking her mind.

Oh bother. Did she hurt ickle Drakey's feelings?

She let out an infinitesimal snort as she imagined herself punching him again. The strange looks that ruminated from the others told her that perhaps- just maybe- that snort was a little louder than she'd thought.

She let out a nervous little laugh, sounding somewhat like a choking thestral, as she tried to remember all her knowledge on riddles.

Well they were tricky. And usually used to trick people.

Hermione twitched slightly as her mind failed her. Nibbling thoughtlessly upon her lower lip, she forced herself to think. Hermione Granger never failed, never had no answer, and never lost. Especially to something as trivial as a child's riddle.

Closing her eyes to think, she welcomed the silence pleasurably. As she heard the Slytherin suck in a breath to answer, her eyes flew open. Her hand flung spastically to his lips to silence him.

"Shhh!"

Hermione closed her eyes once more, her hands tugging lightly at her bushy mane of hair. Perhaps it was something in the sentence.

How far does a blind dog walk into a forest?

Hermione was in the process of wondering if it mattered if it was blind dog or not, when she heard him open his mouth again.

"Shhh," she insisted once more, ignoring the fact that he'd forcefully grabbed her wrist, flinging it back down to her side, probably out of disgust.

"Why—"

"I told you to shut the hell up, _Malfoy_," she hissed at him, face twitching angrily. With him, she'd be lucky if it didn't get stuck that way. Sighing, she kept on, repeating the phrase over and over again in her head, as if it were some sort of mantra.

**How **far does a blind dog walk through a forest? No, that wasn't it.

How **far **does a blind dog walk through a forest? There was some possibility there.

**Does **a blind dog walk through the forest? Ernie had already proven it walked through it.

Then, as if it were a ton of bricks, it hit her.

How far does a blind dog walk **through** a forest! Of course, how had she not seen it?

"Well," Lady Morgana purred, her seemingly feline eyes challenged Hermione, seeing that she seemed to know something.

"Lady Morgana," Ernie started, only to be cut of by Hermione.

"Honestly, Granger, trying to take all the glory for yourself," Draco complained.

Flitting her eyes around, demonically demanding silence, Hermione cleared her throat.

"One may only walk halfway through a forest, correct Lady Morgana," she asked, eyes slit as the woman in the painting held an amused look within her own eyes.

Letting out a miniscule chuckle, she smirked, gesturing for Hermione to finish.

"Once you walk halfway through a forest, the next half you are walking out of it, is that not true, Lady Morgana? Now if you don't mind," Hermione completed, an air of pompous victory surrounding the girl. That's right, Hermione Granger was a winner. Take a straw and suck that up, Malfoy.

The portrait cracked, as if cautious for a moment, before swinging open completely. Before she closed, she left off, "I should warn you, my riddles aren't for the weak of heart."

Hermione sneered a truly vicious sneer, before stepping in, finding her trunks before one of a pair of twin spiraled stairs. Yawning tiredly, she left the other three without a word, going to go unpack her things. Finding herself still only slightly tired when she finished, she grabbed a thick tome and settled down on the sitting room couch. She was barely a chapter into it when she heard someone clearing their throat.

"You kept me waiting," Hermione said neutrally, managing to pronounce every syllable with not a hint of distress. She could manage at least that, after all, Hermione Granger was a winner, a child genius, and someone who never lost her cool.

Obviously.

**A/N: Sorry its not as good as the last chapter, however I have good plans for the next chapter.**

**Next chapter: Draco's point of view.**

**PLEASE, review! I will love you forever and ever! :P**

**-Fairy's Queen**


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